Array of documents with graphical links to geographical positions

ABSTRACT

A method, apparatus practicing the method, a system and an interface for displaying an array of computer-readable files having a graphical link with geographical positions to indicate more precisely the geographical position associated with the computer-readable files.

CROSS-REFERENCES

The present application is a continuation of, and claims priority under35 U.S.C. 120 to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/799,154, filedMar. 13, 2013, entitled ARRAY OF DOCUMENTS WITH PAST, PRESENT AND FUTUREPORTIONS THEREOF, which is a continuation of, and claims priority under35 U.S.C. 120 to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/192,286, filedAug. 15, 2008, entitled POSITION BASED MULTI-DIMENSIONAL LOCATING SYSTEMAND METHOD, which is incorporated herein by reference, and which is anonprovisional of, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to, U.S.provisional patent application No. 60/957,444, filed Aug. 22, 2007,entitled INFORMATION ELEMENTS LOCATING SYSTEM AND METHOD; U.S.provisional patent application No. 60/971,214, filed Sep. 10, 2007,entitled GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATING SYSTEM AND METHOD; and from U.S.provisional patent application No. 61/034,625, filed Mar. 7, 2008,entitled INTERFACE. All the previously cited documents are incorporatedherein by reference. Any publication of and any patent issuing from theforegoing U.S. patent applications is hereby incorporated herein byreference including United States patent application publication No. US2007/0214169 A1, published Sep. 13, 2007, entitled MULTI-DIMENSIONALLOCATING SYSTEM AND METHOD and United States patent applicationpublication No. US 2007/0271508 A1, published Nov. 22, 2007, entitledMULTI-DIMENSIONAL LOCATING SYSTEM AND METHOD.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to computer systems and morespecifically to a method, a system and an interface that facilitateslocalization and organization of user-selectable elements. Moreprecisely, the present invention relates to a method for managing arraysof user-selectable elements in association with a geographical or acelestial position; separating user-selectable elements in portions oftime; and displaying advertising.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the always-increasing amount of information one has to deal with ona daily basis it becomes harder to manage the information on anitem-by-item basis. An alternative information management system adaptedto organize large amount of information would be beneficial to the user.

United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2007/0214169 A1,published on Sep. 13, 2007 discloses a Multi-dimensional locating systemand method (title). The patent application discloses ways for managingand displaying vectors of documents and other computer-readable files. Avector of documents that groups a plurality of documents along apredetermined order, inter alia, is taught.

United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2007/0271508 A1,published on Nov. 22, 2007 discloses a Multi-dimensional locating systemand method (title). A plurality of vectors of documents and othercomputer-readable files sharing a common timeline is disclosed.

With the possibility of displaying vectors of documents and otherinformation elements it is desirable to associate arrays ofuser-selectable elements and/or user-selectable elements with aposition/location.

It is also desirable to separate documents and other informationelements on an information element vector in accordance with the past,the present and the future.

It is desirable to display advertising in relation with the selectedattribute(s) associated with an information element vector to moreprecisely direct the advertising or the message to a receptive audience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order toprovide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is notintended to identify key/critical elements of the invention or todelineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to presentsome concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to themore detailed description that is presented later.

This invention generally refers to user-selectable elements that includecomputer-readable files like documents and multimedia assets.User-selectable elements can alternatively be referred to menu icons orthumbnails that are associated to an attribute, a category or a tag andarranged as explained below. In order to lighten the reading of thepresent specification, the term “document” is generally used withoutintending to limit the scope of the present patent application only todocuments. unless positively specified, but rather to include, interalia, the above-mentioned user-selectable elements.

Therefore, an aspect of the present invention provides an array ofdocuments related to a position/location.

An aspect of the present invention provides a plurality of arrays ofdocuments related to a position/location, each array being adapted togroup documents having a commonality therebetween.

An additional aspect of the present invention provides an array ofdocuments related to a position, each array being adapted to groupdocuments having a commonality, the commonality being graphicallyrepresented and associated with the array of documents to which itrelates, the graphical representation being adapted to be selectable.

An object of the present invention provides a means to draw a relationbetween an array of documents and a geographical map and/or a celestialmap.

One aspect of the present invention provides a graphical link between anarray of documents and a position/location on a map.

One other aspect of the present invention provides a graphical linkbetween a document on an array of documents and a position on a map.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a query determining thedocuments to be displayed on an array of documents, the query beingadapted to change in consideration of the altitude of a map.

One other aspect of the present invention provides a choice ofattributes that is associated with an altitude from which a map isvisualized.

An aspect of the present invention provides a plurality of attributes,the plurality of attributes having respective associations with analtitude, the altitude being material into the determination of theattributes that are available to a user to select.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a choice of documentsdisplayed on an array of documents that are selected, at least in part,on an azimuth.

One aspect of the present invention provides a choice of documentsdisplayed on an array of documents that are selected, at least in part,on a declination.

An aspect of the present invention provides a dynamic link between anarray of documents and a position on a map, a movement of the subjectposition on the map influencing which documents are displayed on thearray of documents.

Another aspect of the present invention provides one or more tangiblemachine-readable media having machine-executable instructions encodedthereon which, when executed by a data processing system, cause the dataprocessing system to perform a method comprising: receiving instructionsproviding data about a position; and displaying an array ofuser-selectable elements, the array of user-selectable elements beingadapted to group user-selectable elements related to the position.

An aspect of the present invention provides an arrangement of documentsin accordance with a timeline defining the past, the present and thefuture.

One other aspect of the present invention provides an arrangement ofdocuments on an array of documents along a timeline defining the past,the present and the future.

Another aspect of the present invention provides independent scrollingcapability for each of a past, present and future portion of an array ofdocuments.

An aspect of the present invention provides an array of documentsdefining a first portion displaying documents related to the past, asecond portion displaying documents, and or computer programs, relatedto the present and a third portion displaying documents or scheduledelements related to the future.

One other aspect of the present invention provides an array of documentsthat displays documents related to the past on a first lineardistribution, documents related to the present on a second lineardistribution and documents related to the future on a third lineardistribution. The linear distributions being displayable adjacent toeach other.

One aspect of the present invention provides a means to magnify adocument from an array of documents.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a single means forscrolling through documents disposed on an array of documents amongother arrays of documents. The desired array of document being adaptedto be selected prior to being actively scrolled through.

One other additional aspect of the present invention provides one ormore tangible machine-readable media having encoded machine-executableinstructions adapted to provide a method for displaying arrays ofuser-selectable elements, the method comprising: displaying an array ofuser-selectable elements, the array of user-selectable elements defininga past portion, a present portion and a future portion.

An aspect of the present invention provides a tool for managinginformation that is adapted to display documents in a fashion thatallows a user to draw links therebetween.

One aspect of the present invention provides a mechanism to displayadvertising in association with an array of documents based onattributes used to determine which documents are displayed on the arrayof documents.

Another aspect of the present invention provides advertising inassociation with an array of documents based on the selection ofcommonality that is material in the selection of the documents on thearray.

An aspect of the present invention provides a mechanism that displaysadvertising at predetermined intervals therebetween on an array ofdocuments.

One other aspect of the present invention provides an advertiser todetermine attributes and associate the determined attributes withadvertisings and correlate the determined attribute with the selectionof attribute(s) made by a user to display the associated advertising(s).

Another aspect of the present invention provides one or more tangiblemachine-readable media having encoded machine-executable instructionsadapted to provide a method for displaying arrays of user-selectableelements comprising: associating an advertising with an attribute;receiving instructions about the selection of the attribute; displayingan array of user-selectable elements, the array of user-selectableelements grouping user-selectable element having the attribute incommon; and displaying the advertising.

These and other advantages and features of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description and the attacheddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings which form a part of this originaldisclosure:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a computer network;

FIG. 2 is another alternate schematic view of a computer network;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a computer system;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of geographical coordinates;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of coordinates with the azimuth and thedeclination;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating various steps adapted to retrievedocuments related to a geographical position and displays the retrieveddocuments on an array of documents;

FIG. 7 is an alternate flow chart illustrating various steps adapted toretrieve documents related to a geographical position and displays theretrieved documents on an array of documents;

FIG. 8 is an alternate flow chart illustrating various steps adapted toretrieve documents related to a geographical position and displays theretrieved documents on an array of documents;

FIG. 9 is an alternate flow chart illustrating various steps adapted toretrieve documents related to a geographical position and displays theretrieved documents on an array of documents;

FIG. 10 is an alternate flow chart illustrating various steps adapted toretrieve documents related to a geographical position and displays theretrieved documents on an array of documents;

FIG. 11 is an alternate flow chart illustrating various steps adapted toretrieve documents related to a geographical position and displays theretrieved documents on an array of documents;

FIG. 12 is an alternate flow chart illustrating various steps adapted toretrieve documents related to a geographical position and displays theretrieved documents on an array of documents;

FIG. 13 is an alternate flow chart illustrating various steps adapted toretrieve documents related to a geographical position and displays theretrieved documents on an array of documents;

FIG. 14 is an alternate flow chart illustrating various steps adapted toretrieve documents related to a geographical position and displays theretrieved documents on an array of documents;

FIG. 15 is an alternate flow chart illustrating various steps adapted toretrieve documents related to a geographical position and displays theretrieved documents on an array of documents;

FIG. 16 illustrates an array of documents in association with acelestial map;

FIG. 17 is a graph of the relation between the altitude and theprecision of attributes;

FIG. 18 is an illustrative table of the relation between the altitudeand the precision of attributes;

FIG. 19 is an alternate illustrative table of the relation between thealtitude and the precision of attributes;

FIG. 20 is an illustrative geographical map of Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec,Canada;

FIG. 21 illustrates an array of documents and its related documentsgraphically associated with the geographical map of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is an illustration of two intersecting arrays of documentsfalling from the selection of attribute “E”;

FIG. 23 illustrates two intersecting arrays of documents and a relateddocument graphically associated with the geographical map of FIG. 20;

FIG. 24 illustrates an alternate array of documents and a relateddocument graphically associated with the geographical map of FIG. 20;

FIG. 25 illustrates the alternate array of documents of FIG. 24 whereeach row of the array can be individually scrolled or navigated;

FIG. 26 illustrates an array of documents including a past portion, apresent portion and a future portion, each portion associated with theirrespective navigation means;

FIG. 27 alternatively illustrates an array of documents including a pastportion, a present portion and a future portion, each portion beingassociated with their respective navigation means;

FIG. 28 also alternatively illustrates an array of documents including apast portion, a present portion and a future portion, each portion beingassociated with their respective navigation means;

FIG. 29 illustrates a series of arrays of documents including a pastportion, a present portion and a future portion, each portion beingassociated with their respective navigation means;

FIG. 30 illustrates a series of arrays of documents including a pastportion, a present portion and a future portion, associated with asingle set of navigation means;

FIG. 31 illustrates an array of documents with bi-dimensional navigationmeans;

FIG. 32 illustrates two intersecting arrays of documents withbi-dimensional navigation means;

FIG. 33 illustrates an array of documents separating the past portion,the present portion and the future portion on distinct rows and furthermagnifying selected documents;

FIG. 34 is a schematic illustration of three arrays of documentsjuxtaposed one to the other;

FIG. 35 is a schematic illustration of the three arrays of FIG. 34 usinga different distribution;

FIG. 36 is a schematic illustration of an array of documents;

FIG. 37 is a schematic illustration of two arrays of documents;

FIG. 38 is a schematic illustration of an array of documents;

FIG. 39 is a schematic illustration of three arrays of documents;

FIG. 40 is a schematic illustration of two intersecting arrays ofdocuments;

FIG. 41 is a schematic illustration of two intersecting arrays ofdocuments;

FIG. 42 is a flow chart of advertising associated with attributes anddisplayed when the attribute is selected in conjunction with an array ofdocuments;

FIG. 43 is an alternate flow chart of advertising associated withattributes and displayed when the attribute is selected in conjunctionwith an array of documents;

FIG. 44 is an illustrative array of documents displaying an advertising;

FIG. 45 is an alternate illustrative array of documents displaying anadvertising; and

FIG. 46 is an alternate illustrative array of documents displayingadvertising.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT(S) OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is now described with reference to the drawings,wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elementsthroughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. It may be evident, however, thatthe present invention may be practiced without these specific details.In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form in order to facilitate describing the present invention.

The features provided in this specification mainly relates to basicprinciples for managing arrays of documents in relation withgeographical position and/or celestial position; separatinguser-selectable elements in portions of time; and displayingadvertising. This specification also covers computer software andmachine-readable code/instructions adapted to manage an array ofdocuments with a related geographical position; adapted to separateuser-selectable elements in portions of time; and also adapted todisplay advertising. These code/instructions are preferably stored on amachine-readable medium to be read and acted upon to with a computer ora machine having the appropriate code/instructions reading capability.

Exemplary Network

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary network 10 in which a system and method,consistent with the present invention, may be implemented. The network10 may include multiple client devices 12 connected to multiple servers14, 16, 18 via a network 20. The network 20 may include a local areanetwork (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a telephone network, such asthe Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), an intranet, the Internet,Wi-Fi, WiMAX or a combination of networks. Two client devices 12 andthree servers 14, 16, 18 have been illustrated as connected to network20 for simplicity. In practice, there may be more or less client devicesand servers. Also, in some instances, a client device may perform thefunctions of a server and a server may perform the functions of a clientdevice.

The client devices 12 may include devices, such as mainframes,minicomputers, personal computers, laptops, personal digital assistants,telephones, or the like, capable of connecting to the network 20. Theclient devices 12 may transmit data over the network 20 or receive datafrom the network 20 via a wired, wireless, or optical connection.

The servers 14, 16, 18 may include one or more types of computersystems, such as a mainframe, minicomputer, or personal computer,capable of connecting to the network 20 to enable servers 14, 16, 18 tocommunicate with the client devices 12. In alternative implementations,the servers 14, 16, 18 may include mechanisms for directly connecting toone or more client devices 12. The servers 14, 16, 18 may transmit dataover network 14 or receive data from the network 20 via a wired,wireless, or optical connection.

In an implementation consistent with the present invention, the server14 may include a search engine 22 usable by the client devices 12. Theservers 14 may store documents, such as web pages, accessible by theclient devices 12.

With reference to FIG. 2, a network 20 includes the content cloud 30, acontent database 32, content devices 34-38, and devices 40-48. Thenetwork mediator 22 enables the network devices 32-38 to communicatewith each other without pre-configuring each device.

The content cloud 30 represent a content source such as the Internet,where content exists at various locations across the globe. The contentincludes multimedia content such as audio and video. The mediator 22allows the content cloud to provide content to devices 40-48.

The content database 32 is a storage device that maintains content. Thecontent database 32 may be a stand-alone device on an externalcommunication network. The mediator 22 communicates with the contentdatabase 32 to access and retrieve content.

The content devices 34-38 include intelligent devices, such as, forexample, personal computers, laptops, cell phones and personal digitalassistants. The content devices 32-38 are capable or storing contentinformation.

The devices 40-48 are intelligent devices that receive content from acontent source 30-38. However, the devices 30-38 can also operate asservers to distribute content to other client devices.

Exemplary Client Architecture

FIG. 3 and the following discussion provide a brief, general descriptionof an exemplary apparatus in which at least some aspects of the presentinvention may be implemented. The present invention will be described inthe general context of computer-executable instructions, such as programmodules, being executed by a personal computer. However, the methods ofthe present invention may be effected by other apparatus. Programmodules may include routines, programs, objects, components, datastructures, applets, WEB 2.0 type of evolved networked centeredapplications, etc. that perform a task(s) or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat at least some aspects of the present invention may be practicedwith other configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,network computers, minicomputers, set top boxes, mainframe computers,gaming console and the like. At least some aspects of the presentinvention may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules may be located in local and/or remote memory storage devices.

With reference to FIG. 3, an exemplary apparatus 100 for implementing atleast some aspects of the present invention includes a general purposecomputing device in the form of a conventional personal computer 120.The personal computer 120 may include a processing unit 121, a systemmemory 122, and a system bus 123 that couples various system components,including the system memory 122, to the processing unit 121. The systembus 123 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memorybus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any ofa variety of bus architectures. The system memory may include read onlymemory (ROM) 124 and/or random access memory (RAM) 125. A basicinput/output system 126 (BIOS), containing basic routines that help totransfer information between elements within the personal computer 120,such as during start-up, may be stored in ROM 124. The personal computer120 may also include a hard disk drive 127 for reading from and writingto a hard disk, (not shown), a magnetic disk drive 128 for reading fromor writing to a (e.g., removable) magnetic disk 129, and an optical diskdrive 130 for reading from or writing to a removable (magneto) opticaldisk 131 such as a compact disk or other (magneto) optical media. Thehard disk drive 127, magnetic disk drive 128, and (magneto) optical diskdrive 130 may be coupled with the system bus 123 by a hard disk driveinterface 132, a magnetic disk drive interface 133, and a (magneto)optical drive interface 134, respectively. The drives and theirassociated storage media provide nonvolatile (or persistent) storage ofmachine readable instructions, data structures, program modules andother data for the personal computer 120. Although the exemplaryenvironment described herein employs a hard disk, a removable magneticdisk 129 and a removable optical disk 131, those skilled in the art willappreciate that other types of storage media, such as magneticcassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoullicartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read only memories (ROM), andthe like, may be used instead of, or in addition to, the storage devicesintroduced above.

A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk 127, magneticdisk 129, (magneto) optical disk 131, ROM 124 or RAM 125, such as anoperating system 135 (for example, Windows® NT® 4.0, sold by Microsoft®Corporation of Redmond, Wash.), one or more application programs 136,other program modules 137 (such as “Alice”, which is a research systemdeveloped by the User Interface Group at Carnegie Mellon Universityavailable at www.Alice.org, OpenGL from Silicon Graphics Inc. ofMountain View Calif., or Direct 3D from Microsoft Corp. of BellevueWash.), and/or program data 138 for example.

A user may enter commands and information into the personal computer 120through input devices, such as a keyboard 140, a camera 141 and pointingdevice 142 for example. Other input devices (not shown) such as amicrophone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, a touchsensitive screen, accelerometers adapted to sense movements of the useror movements of a device, or the like may also be included. These andother input devices are often connected to the processing unit 121through a serial port interface 146 coupled to the system bus. However,input devices may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallelport, a game port, blue tooth connection or a universal serial bus(USB). For example, since the bandwidth of the camera 141 may be toogreat for the serial port, the video camera 141 may be coupled with thesystem bus 123 via a video capture card (not shown). The video monitor147 or other type of display device may also be connected to the systembus 123 via an interface, such as a video adapter 148 for example. Thevideo adapter 148 may include a graphics accelerator. One or morespeaker 162 may be connected to the system bus 123 via a sound card 161(e.g., a wave table synthesizer such as product number AWE64 Gold Cardfrom Creative® Labs of Milpitas, Calif.). In addition to the monitor 147and speaker(s) 162, the personal computer 120 may include otherperipheral output devices (not shown), such as a printer for example. Asan alternative or an addition to the video monitor 147, a stereo videooutput device, such as a head mounted display or LCD shutter glasses forexample, could be used.

The personal computer 120 may operate in a networked environment whichdefines logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as aremote computer 149. The remote computer 149 may be another personalcomputer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or othercommon network node, and may include many or all of the elementsdescribed above relative to the personal computer 120, although only amemory storage device has been illustrated in FIG. 1. The logicalconnections depicted in FIG. 2 include a local area network (LAN) 14 anda wide area network (WAN) 152, an intranet and the Internet.

When used in a LAN, the personal computer 120 may be connected to theLAN 14 through a network interface adapter (or “NIC”) 153. When used ina WAN, such as the Internet, the personal computer 120 may include amodem 154 or other means for establishing communications over the widearea network 152 (e.g. Wi-Fi, WinMax). The modem 154, which may beinternal or external, may be connected to the system bus 123 via theserial port interface 146. In a networked environment, at least some ofthe program modules depicted relative to the personal computer 120 maybe stored in the remote memory storage device. The network connectionsshown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communicationslink between the computers may be used.

The Interface

An interface program providing an interface for managing documents isinstalled on a machine e.g. a computer system. The interface can beprogrammed using various programming languages e.g. C++, Java or othersuitable programming languages. Programming of these languages is wellknown in the art and is adapted to be readable to provide executableinstructions to the hardware system. The interface might run through theoperating system and the hardware of the computer system or,alternatively, through a network based system. The interface is adaptedto manage documents, computer files, pictures, multimedia content,applications (i.e. computer programs), menu elements and otheruser-selectable elements in a comprehensive fashion. From now on, andthroughout this patent application, we refer to the term “documents” tolighten the text although no rights are declined in respect to othertypes of content unless otherwise specified.

Documents are stored on a machine readable medium and can be retrievedwhen needed by the interface program. The documents are disposed in anarray layout providing a visually comprehensive display arrangement ofthe documents. The array can, illustratively, among other possibilities,be based on a selection of attribute(s), tag(s), category(ies), achronological order, a statistical order or an order representing anincreasing file size. Combinations of the above-listed possible choicesare possible if desired to reduce the number of documents on the array.The array thus helps the viewer to infer additional meaning from thedistribution of the documents.

An array is adapted to accommodate a single type of documents, more thanone type of documents or a mix of documents, computer files, multimediacontent and user-selectable menu elements. Documents might overlap tosqueeze more documents on the space available on a display.Magnification of selected documents on an array can be made to increasethe level of details of the selected documents.

Using an array of documents helps to meaningfully and intuitivelydisplay a group of documents. An array of documents can be embodied asbeing a substantially linear distribution of documents adapted todispose each document to be displayed on a line or on a curved line. Thedisplay of the array of documents might be made in accordance with apredetermined order (e.g. chronologically), or not. A lineardistribution of documents can sort documents on a timeline. Anotherillustrative embodiment is a group of juxtaposed linear distribution ofdocuments grouped together to form an array referring to a matrix ofdocuments. A circular array of documents is also considered to be withinthe scope of the present disclosure.

The display of documents on an array of documents allows to contextuallymanage documents as a flow or an ongoing suite of documents instead ofdealing with each document independently. By getting away from themanaging each document independently it becomes possible to efficientlydeal with a significantly higher number of documents and still keep thedocuments in a structured order.

Each array of documents groups documents in accordance with, forexample, a selected tag, a category, keywords, or an attribute that iscommonly shared among the documents of the array of documents. The termattribute will consistently be used throughout the instant specificationto lighten the reading of the text and will include the othercommonality described therein unless otherwise specified. The selectionof one or more attributes determines which documents will be displayedon the array of documents. If no specific attribute is selected, then,the array of documents displays all documents. That is, all documents onthe same array of documents are associated with the selected set ofattributes. In addition, a timeline can be used to determine the orderof the suite of documents on the array of documents. In the case of amatrix of documents, then, one axis of the matrix can represent atimeline while the other axis represents another criterion like, forexample, the type of computer files each document relates to.

The attributes of a document can be selected to create another array ofdocuments. The attribute of a document from the newly created array ofdocuments can be selected to create an additional array of documents andso on so forth. The user can “navigate” along the arrays of documents inaccordance with their metadata, or categorization, to visualize thedocuments. Navigation tools are provided with the interface to allownavigation through various arrays of documents, when a plurality ofarrays is enabled, and through the documents of a single array ofdocuments.

When only a portion of the array is visible, a play of zoom, pan andnavigation along the array allows a viewer to change the document(s)that is(are) displayed on the display. A small display area coulddisplay only one document from the array of documents while theremaining documents from the array of documents are not displayed butremain nonetheless at their “virtual” position on the array and ready tobe displayed if the array is scrolled to show other documents. In otherwords, if we consider a mobile platform like a mobile phone having asmall display, the small display area might allow to efficiently displayonly one document at the time. However, the displayed document beingpart of an array of documents, the other documents on the array ofdocuments remain displayable in accordance with their respectiveposition on the array of documents when the array is scrolled/navigated.

Global Positioning

A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the earth to bespecified, using mainly a spherical coordinate system. As illustrated onFIGS. 4 and 5, there are three coordinates: latitude 200, longitude 210and geodesic height (or altitude 220). Latitude 200 (abbreviation: Lat.or (φ) pronounced phi) is the angle from a point on the earth's surfaceand the equatorial plane, measured from the center of the sphere. Linesjoining points of the same latitude 200 are called parallels, and theytrace concentric circles on the surface of the earth, parallel to theequator. The north pole 90° N; the south pole 90° S. The 0° parallel oflatitude is designated the equator. The equator is the fundamental planeof all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe intothe Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Longitude 210 (abbreviation: Long. or (λ) pronounced lambda) is theangle east or west of north-south line between the two geographicalpoles, which passes through an arbitrary point. Lines joining points ofthe same longitude are called meridians. All meridians are halves ofgreat circles, and are not parallel. They converge at the north andsouth poles.

The line passing through the (former) Royal Observatory, Greenwich (nearLondon in the UK) has been chosen as the international zero-longitudereference line, the Prime Meridian. Places to east are in the easternhemisphere, and places to the west in the western hemisphere. Theantipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180° W and 180° E. The choice ofGreenwich is arbitrary, and in other cultures and times in history otherlocations have been used as the prime meridian.

By combining these two angles, the horizontal position of any locationon Earth can be specified. For example, Baie-Saint-Paul (in the provinceof Québec, Canada), a well know place for painters and artists, alsoknown for being the cradle of Cirque du Soleil™ that was formerly knownas “Les échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul”, has a latitude of 47°26′22.33″North, and a longitude of 70°29′32.00″ West. So, a vector drawn from thecenter of the earth to a point 47°26′22.33″ North of the equator and70°29′32.00″ of Greenwich will pass through Baie-Saint-Paul. Thecoordinates provided above are more precise than required and could beless precise and still provide proper positioning.

Azimuth 230 is a mathematical concept defined as the angle, usuallymeasured in degrees (°), between a reference plane 232 and a point. Thisconcept is used in many practical applications including navigation,astronomy, mapping, mining and artillery. The word azimuth is derivedfrom the Arabic ‘as-sumūt’ which means the ways, referring to the waysor directions a person faces. In navigation, the reference plane istypically true north and is considered 0° azimuth. Moving clockwise 234,a point due east would have an azimuth of 90°, south 180°, and west270°. Some navigation systems use south as the reference plane. However,any direction can serve as the plane of reference, as long as it isclearly defined for everyone using that system.

If instead of measuring from and along the horizon the angles aremeasured from and along the celestial equator, the angles are calleddeclination 240 and right ascension (hour angle).

In the horizontal coordinate system, used in celestial navigation andsatellite dish installation, azimuth 230 is one of the two coordinates.The other is altitude, sometimes called elevation above the horizon.

In three-dimensional polar coordinate systems, including cylindricalcoordinates and spherical coordinates, the azimuth 230 of a point is theangle between the positive x-axis and the projection of the vector ontothe xy-plane (the component of the vector in the xy-plane). Incylindrical coordinates, theta θ is almost universally used to representthe azimuth 230 in mathematical applications, whereas physicalapplications may denote the azimuth 230 using the symbol phi, φ.Although there are several conventions in spherical coordinates, theazimuth 230 is usually denoted by either theta, θ or phi, φ.

Arrays Associated with a Position

What follows is a series of exemplary flow charts illustrating variouspossible suites of actions that are embodied in the present invention.These flow charts are neither exhaustive nor limitative of the possiblevariations provided by the present invention. A skilled person in theart of information management, in consideration of the presentspecification and in light of other related priority documents, mightsee other alternate suites of actions, other possible variations, likechanging the order of the steps that are not described in the shape offlow charts, remain nonetheless within the scope of the presentinvention.

The process shown on FIG. 6 is a very basic illustrative process. Othervariations will be presented in FIG. 7 through FIG. 15.

Turning now to FIG. 6 illustrating an exemplary flow chart of thedisplay of an array of documents based on a geographical position. It isunderstood that each document has previously been associated with ageographical position. The sequence starts 250 with the selection of anattribute 252. Then, a map is displayed 254 and a position on the map isselected 256. The selected position 256 and the selected attribute 252are used to determine which documents will be displayed on the array ofdocuments. Finally, the array of documents is displayed 258 and thesequence ends 260. In the flow chart displayed on FIG. 6 the selectionof the attribute 252 has been placed before the display of a map 254 andthe selection of the geographical position on the map 256 and could havebeen inverted without departing from the scope of the present invention.Alternatively, the display of a map 254 and the selection of thegeographical position on the map 256 could have been made before theselection of the attribute 252. These are examples; other ways to orderdocuments on an array of documents will surely become apparent to askilled reader and still remain within the reach of the presentinvention.

Referring now to FIG. 7 that illustrates an alternate sequence thatbegins 262 with the selection of an attribute 264 and is followed by thedetermination of the ordering along which documents will be disposed onthe array of documents 266. The ordering can be in accordance with achronological order, from the most recently used to the less recentlyused document, or disposed in alphabetical order. Still on FIG. 7, a mapis displayed 268 and a position is selected on the map 270 either by,inter alia, clicking directly on the map, selecting a specific locationfrom a list of location or entering a geographical coordinate. An arrayof documents having an association with the selected geographicalposition and the selected attribute is displayed 272. Navigation can beenabled along the suite of documents displayed on the array of documents274 before the sequence ends 276.

FIG. 8 illustrates an alternate sequence starting 278 with the selectionof an attribute 280 followed by either the display of a map 282 and theselection of a geographical position on the map 284, or, the selectionof the geographical position 286 and the display of a map with theselected geographical position 288. An array of documents includingdocuments having an association with the selected geographical positionand the selected attribute is displayed 290. Once the array is displayedthe geographical position is changed 292 for a different geographicallocation and the array that is displayed is updated in accordance withthe change that was made 294. The array will update the documentsdisplayed thereon in accordance with the new geographical position. Andfinally the sequence ends 296.

The array is updatable in accordance to a change in a parameter used inthe query that determines which document should be displayed on thearray. The update of the array can be instantaneous and the new versionof the array just replaces the previous version. Alternatively, theupdate of the array can be progressive by using animations showing whichdocuments remain on the array and showing new documents accessing theirrespective positions on the array such that a viewer could appreciatethe changes.

Another alternate sequence is illustrated on FIG. 9 and starts 298 withthe selection of an attribute 300 and the display of a map 302 fromwhich a geographical position can be selected 304 or identified inrelation therewith. An array of documents having an association with theselected geographical position and the selected attribute is displayed306. Subsequently, the selected attribute is changed 308 and the arrayis updated in accordance with the newly selected attribute 310 to makesure the array presents an accurate group of documents, all associatedwith the right attribute and the selected geographical position, beforethe sequence ends.

Turning now to FIG. 10 where is illustrated an alternate sequencebeginning 314 with the selection of one or a combination of attributes316 followed by the display of a map 318 and the selection of a positionon the map 320. Based on the selected attribute(s) and the selectedposition on the map, a group of document is displayed in the shape of anarray of documents 322. This time a change in the selected geographicalposition on the map is performed 324 and subsequently the array ofdocuments is updated in accordance with the change in the selectedgeographical position so that the documents associated with the array ofdocuments are all relevant to the newly selected geographical positionand the selected attribute 326 before the sequence ends 328.

On FIG. 11 is displayed an alternate sequence starting 330 with theselection of one or a combination of attribute(s) 332 and the display ofa map 334 and the selection of a geographical position on the map 334and the selection of an altitude 338 from which the map is viewed (orthe adjustment of the height from which the map is seen to set a desiredlevel of details on the map). Once the altitude is set 338, theprecision of the attribute is determined in accordance with the altitudeselected 340. In other words, the altitude has an influence on theattributes. If the altitude is high the available attributes will, forexample, be rather general to correspond with the level of detailsprovided by the set altitude as opposed to precise attributes renderedavailable when the altitude is low and more details for the map areavailable to a viewer. In this situation the attribute has already beenselected and the level of details of the selected attribute isdetermined by the altitude, and the sequence ends 344.

Another exemplary sequence is illustrated on FIG. 12 and starts 346 withthe display of a map 348 and the selection of a position on the map 350.An altitude from which the map is viewed is set 352. The attribute isselected 356 after the altitude has been taken into account to determinewhich attributes 354 are rendered available to a user. The selection ofattributes is decided, at least in part, on the basis of the altitude.The array of documents having an association with the selectedgeographical position and the selected attribute is displayed 358 beforethe sequence ends 360. In this sequence the attributes that can beselected by a user have been determined by the altitude prior to theselection of the attributes.

One additional sequence is illustrated on FIG. 13 and starts 362 withthe selection of an attribute 364, the display of a map 366 and theselection of a geographical position on the map 368. An array isdisplayed showing documents having an association with the selectedgeographical position. The selected attribute and an azimuth 370establishes the angle on the map by which the documents displayed on thearray will be selected. For instance, a direction (as indicated on acompass bearing, or azimuth) will have a significant impact on the pointof view from which pictures are taken thus filtering all the picturestaken from/of a geographical position and keeping only the picturestaken with the right azimuth (angle). The azimuth can be changed 372 andthe documents displayed on the array are updated in accordance with thenew parameters 374 before the sequence ends 376.

FIG. 14 illustrates a sequence that starts 378 with the selection of anattribute 380, the display of a map 382 and the selection of a positionon the map 384. An array is displayed showing documents related to theselected map position and the selected attribute 386. Additionally,graphical links between the array of documents and a geographicalposition to which the array is associated to is drawn to emphasis thelink between the array and the position 388 on the map before thesequence ends 390. The link between the array and the map is even moreuseful when there is a plurality of array simultaneously displayed. Thelink emphasizes which array is associated with which position on themap.

FIG. 15 illustrates an alternate sequence that starts 392 with theselection of an attribute 394, the display of a map 396 and theselection of a position on the map 398. An array is displayed displayingdocuments related to the selected position and attribute 400.Additionally, graphical links between documents and geographicalposition(s) to which the documents are associated to is drawn toemphasis the link between the documents and the position 402 before thesequence ends 404. The link between an array and its related mapposition/location is even more useful when there is a plurality of arraysimultaneously displayed.

The foregoing illustrative flow charts of FIG. 6 through FIG. 15 aregenerally disclosing sequences using a geographical position to retrievedocuments that are associated with the selected position/location. Incontrast, the array or the documents displayed on an array can be usedto retrieve geographical locations. In the latter case, once an array ofdocuments is enabled, a series of links can be generated to show theassociation between a document (or the array itself) and a geographicalposition on the map. A separate set of flow charts illustrating thelatter case has been omitted to reduce the number of figures but isnonetheless considered, when taken in conjunction with other elementsdisclosed herein, to remain within the realm of the present invention.

The links between the array and/or the documents can be displayed inaccordance with time. Let's use an example to illustrate the relationbetween documents, time and positions. A person in a bus has sent manye-mails and SMS one after the other on her/his way home. The sequence,in time and in geographical position, can be illustrated by an arrayincluding all e-mails and SMS from the person. Links between eachdocument and their related geographical positions can be drawn insequence to show where each document is originating from (or has beensent from).

The same principles are applicable to a map of the sky 410 asillustrated on FIG. 16. In this case, all geographical positionsreferred to in this specification would be replaced by celestialpositions 412. The appropriate set of coordinates would be used (e.g.RA: 00h26m35s; Dec: +17:09:45; Alt: 02:27:35; Az: 13:57:33). The map ofthe sky 410 illustrates a portion of the sky 414. Each document 416 onthe array of documents 418 are displayed bellow the map 410 but could besuperposed to the map 410. Each document 416 is linked with the actualcelestial position it relates to using a link 420. The array 418 isprovided with arrows 422 on each side of the array 418 to scrolladditional documents that are outside the display zone between thearrows 422.

Planet March can be selected on a map of the sky and the attribute“water” can be selected from the available list of attributes. An arrayof documents is thus produced displaying documents related to water onMarch. The attribute might illustratively be narrowed by selecting“NASA” and “Report” and “PDF” to get only the reports from the NASA inPDF format on the array.

Referring now to FIG. 17 through FIG. 19. FIGS. 17 and 18 show the typeof relationship the altitude 436 can have with the precision of theattribute. Similarly, FIG. 19 illustrates, inter alia, a table 430including a list of attributes 432 classified in columns under theirrelated attribute family 434. In the example of FIG. 19, the family ofattribute relates to a series of attributes about geography e.g.continents; countries; provinces; cities; highways and finally, the moredetailed attribute “streets”. The family of attribute 434 is associatedwith an altitude 436. All the attributes are not always available to beselected in accordance with the altitude. Depending on the actualaltitude from which the map is viewed, only a number of attribute isavailable. If the altitude is high, the map will be shown from far andonly general information will be viewed from the map. The attribute willbe available in accordance with the level of altitude and will not offerattributes that are more precise than the actual level of altitude. Ifwould be pointless to offer to select the attribute “street” if theentire planet Earth is displayed and the level of details does notprovide any information about “street”.

The attributes can be offered to the user in accordance with the levelof altitude provided by the map but other attributes might also beaccessible if the user precisely knows what is desired. The “by default”displayed attributes can be determined in accordance with the level ofzoom but selection of other attributes remains possible. All attributesare not necessarily available in relation with a position on a map ifthere is no document associated with the attribute for the subjectlocation on the map. Although a wider choice of attributes notnecessarily already associated with the position is available whenassociating attributes with a document.

FIG. 20 is a conventional map 440 provided by a map provider through theinternet. The city of Baie-Saint-Paul is pinpointed 442 next to theSt-Laurence river 444. The geographical position and the altitude arealso provided with the map.

On FIG. 21, an array of documents 450 is illustrated next to a smallerimage of the conventional map 440 of Baie-Saint-Paul on FIG. 21. Thearray of documents 450 disposes documents 452 along a chronologicaltimeline 454. The array of documents 450 is connected to the map 440with an array link 456 positioning the array 450 on the map 440.Otherwise, each document 458 has its own related document link 460drawing a link between the document 458 and its related position on themap 440.

Dynamic Position Association

Still referring to FIG. 21 the position on the map can move and providesa dynamic array of documents. Let's take an example to illustrate theconcept. You are moving in a car in Baie-Saint-Paul looking for arestaurant. You set the position of the moving car as the referenceposition for the array and select “restaurant” as attribute to determinewhich documents, in the present example documents are likely to beinternet pages, will be displayed on the array of document. At the sametime the car moves the next available restaurant appears on the arraysuch that the array of documents dynamically displays the internet pages(or the menu if the attribute “restaurant” and “menu” are selected) ofrestaurants on the trajectory of the moving car. A heads-up delay can beselected to display the information on the array, lets say onekilometer, before the car reaches the position of the restaurant. If thecar changes direction, then, the documents on the array are adjustedconsequently; the latest displayed can remain on the array while thequeued of restaurants to come next will be modified in accordance withthe new trajectory. The same principle is applicable from a desktopcomputer by dragging or pinpointing various positions on the map andobtaining a dynamically updated array of documents.

FIG. 22 shows a first array of documents 462 where every document isillustrated with a set of attributes 464 (represented by capitalletters) respectively associated therewith. The intersecting document466 has the attribute “E” associated therewith. A selection of theattribute “E” from document 466 is used in the displaying of a secondintersecting array of documents 468. It can be appreciated that alldocuments part of array 468 have the attribute “E” in common (asindicated on a dark background). The intersecting array 468 also showsversions 470 of a document disposed in an exemplary array using achronological order 472. Each array of documents 462, 468 can benavigated along.

The documents of FIG. 22 have their respective associated attributesgraphically associated therewith. Each attribute is selectable by a userto build a query for determining which documents will be part of theother array used to present the results from the query. The attributescould also be shown in a table or a menu disposed next to, in theneighborhood of, on in graphical connection with their related documentsand be presented in a fashion adapted to be acted upon by a user.

Focusing on FIG. 23 it is possible to appreciate a first array ofdocuments 490 where documents are disposed in accordance with anordering represented by arrow 492. One document 494 from the first arrayof documents 490 is an intersecting location for a second intersectingarray of documents 496 where documents are disposed in accordance withan ordering represented by arrow 498. The intersecting document 494 isthe only document from which is drawn a link 500 to an associatedgeographical position 502 illustrated on a map 504 of suburbanBaie-Saint-Paul.

Turning now to FIG. 24 illustrating the same map 504 of suburbanBaie-Saint-Paul with a plurality of arrays of documents 510, 512, 514disposed along an ordering represented by arrow 492. Each one of thearrays of documents 510, 512, 514 are grouping documents 516 inaccordance with a specific query. The query might be based, inter alia,upon a selection of an attribute, a combination of attributes or inrespect with a geographical position. Each array 510, 512, 514, and/oreach documents contained in the arrays 510, 512, 514 could be linked tothe map 504 if so is the desire of the viewer. Some or all links couldbe seen simultaneously. Conversely, only the link 518 associated with aselected document 520 could be displayed to prevent displaying too manylinks at the same time and thus prevent confusion.

FIG. 25 is quite similar to FIG. 24 but it illustrates that each arrayof documents 510, 512, 514 can be longitudinally displaced independentlyfrom one another with their associated navigation arrows 530.

Array of Documents with Past-Present-Future

Referring to FIG. 26, an array of documents 550 includes a series ofdocuments 516 before the present separation mark 554, on the pastportion 552 of the array 550. Additional documents on the array ofdocuments, not displayed, are identified by continuing arrows 556, 558,disposed on both sides of the displayed documents 552. A selection of apast navigation arrows 560, 562, will displace the displayed documentsin the direction of the selected navigation arrow 560, 562 so that otherdocuments 516 become visible.

Five documents 516 or applications 572 are displayed on the presentportion 556 of the array 550. The present navigation arrows 568, 570 arenot in a selectable state because there is no other document 516, orapplication 572, that are not already displayed on the present portion556 of the array of documents. The future portion 576 of the array 550,separated by the future separation mark 574, displays three documents516, or agenda items 580, having an occurrence in the future. Additionaldocuments 516 or agenda items 580 are available as indicated bycontinuing arrows 556, 558. Future navigation arrows 582, 584 areavailable to move along documents and agenda items on the future portionof the array 550.

Turning to FIG. 27, the present separation mark 554 and the futureseparation mark 574 are movable to define the space allowed for eachportion (i.e. past, present, future) of the array 550. The presentportion 566 is now wide enough to accommodate eight documents 516 and/orrunning applications 572. The width of the past portion 552 and thefuture portion 576 has been modified accordingly since the width of theexemplary display (in this case the sheet) remains the same. It can alsobe noted that the most recent documents 516 from the past portion 552are displayed since the continuing arrow 558 has disappeared and onlycontinuing arrow 556 remains to navigate the other remaining documents.Accordingly, past navigation arrow 560 is active while arrow 562 is notactive. The continuing arrows 556 and 558 could also be utilized fornavigating the array and navigation arrows 560, 562 could be eliminated.

Referring to FIG. 28, the number of documents 516 and/or applications572 in the present portion 556 has increased and there is not enoughroom to display all the documents. Continuing arrows 556, 558 are nowdisplayed thus indicating there is more information available on eachside of the present portion 556. Meanwhile, the present navigationarrows 568, 570 are active thus ready to move the information along thepresent portion 556 of the array 550.

FIGS. 26 through 29 illustrate the display of only one array 550 at thetime. FIG. 29 illustrates a case where the distinct arrays 550.1, 550.2and 550.3 are juxtaposed to each other on the same display. It can beappreciated that the present separation mark 554 and the futureseparation mark 574 are combined across many arrays.

A set of three juxtaposed arrays of documents in FIG. 30 shares a singleset of navigation arrows 600, 602, 604. One array 606 is selected andappears in darker lines 612 to visually distinguish the selected array606 from the other non-selected arrays 608, 610. Navigation arrows 600,602, 604 will affect the selected array 606 to navigate through thedocuments disposed on array 606. The other documents on non-selectedarrays 602, 604 are not moving with the navigation arrows 600, 602, 604.

Switching now to FIG. 31 that illustrates an array of documents 620 thatdisplays a plurality of documents 622 accompanied by navigation arrows624, 626, 628 that are adapted to navigate on more than one axis. Array620 offers documents displayed on a single axis 630. Conversely, array640 displays a plurality of documents 632 along the first axis 630 andalong a non-parallel axis 650. In the present situation, documentsdisposed along axis 650 are intersecting the documents disposed alongaxis 630 at document 624. As explained earlier in the description theintersecting document 624 has a commonality with the documents displayedalong axis 650. When documents are displayed on more than one axis 630,650 the navigation arrows 624, 626, 628 are enabled in many directionsin accordance with the axes 630, 650.

FIG. 33 illustrates the past portion 680, the present portion 682 andthe future portion 684 of an array of documents in accordance with thepresent invention. As opposed to what has been previously described, thedifferent portions 680, 682, 684 are disposed juxtaposed one to theother. The past portion 680 is the selected portion as illustrated withthe darker color 686 and is therefore associated with the navigationarrows 690. The past portion 680 is displaying the most recent documentsas indicated by the missing continuing arrow on the right side 692although other non-displayed documents remains to be seen from the leftside as indicated by continuing arrow 694. The present portion 682displays all the documents/applications 698 as indicated by the omissionof continuing arrows 700 on each side. The agenda is quite full thoughand the future portion 684 is crowded with documents to review 702,people to contact 704, and meetings 706. The focus is presently put onJul. 21, 2008 (assuming today is before Jul. 21, 2008) defined betweentwo time separators 710. Again, the continuing arrows 712, 714 on eachside of the future portion 684 indicate that there is non-displayedinformation of both sides of the future portion 684.

Still on FIG. 33, on the past portion 680, one document 720 has beenselected and magnified in display area 722. Similarly, the presentportion 682 has a selected application 726 magnified at display area 728(notice the landscape orientation of the application 726 tailored to fitthe size of a display). Finally, meeting 706 from the future portion 684is magnified at display area 730.

Project Management

Studies have shown that new ideas are actually build-ups of otherelements of information linked together by the human brain. It is alsothrough a similar mechanism that conclusions are reached in a policeenquiry for instance. Data that is, at a first glance, irrelevant byitself may prove valuable when put in perspective with other data.

FIG. 34 shows three arrays of information, 740, 742 and 744 that couldbe from three different sources or from a single source that has beensorted through different sets of attributes. d1, d2, d3 and d4 are days,separated by vertical dotted lines. All three arrays of documents areshown with no variation of spacing due to different length of timesbetween documents. In that context documents 746, 748, 750 show noparticular sense. FIG. 35 shows the same documents, with their arraysshowing variations in elapsed time between documents. Furthermore, thethree arrays are aligned to one another by sharing common verticaldotted lines, thus showing any given day's documents next to the onesfrom another array. In such a context, the same three documents 746,748, 750 can more easily be linked together and lead to a “conclusion”:752. This simplified example shows the usefulness of positioningmultiple arrays of documents in a manner to promote the establishment oflinks. Here, the parallel has been made through a common (intrinsic)ordering (time) but other ones could be used.

The influence of actions, events and contacts in knowledge levelincrease is significant. An important source of information acquisition(through contacts) in the workplace are meetings. Meeting summary(minutes) received after a given meeting can be considered as regulardocument for instance. On the other hand, a meeting that still hasn'tbeen held cannot be considered as a document in its own right; it isstill in the future, thus still “virtual” even though a convocationnotice and an agenda may have been received for it. FIG. 36 shows atypical array of documents 754 spanning over four days, d−1, d0, d+1 andd+2, where d0 is the present day. A convocation C 756 and an agenda A758 have been received on the previous day (d−1) for a meeting to beheld three days later (d+2). Because it is in the future, the meetingitself appears as a “ghost” document E 760 (ideally showing differentvisual characteristics not illustrated on FIG. 36) displayed in thefuture on day d+2. Because one usually wishes to prepare for a givenmeeting, he or she will assign tasks (or actions) to him or herself inpreparation for the event. FIG. 37 shows such a foreseen event E 764 asa “ghost” document with an array of information 762. Two tasks 766, 768are linked to that event and appear as an automatically generated secondarray 763. One of the tasks 766, 768 may be completed 766 and showsdifferent visual characteristics for a non-completed task 768. In asimilar fashion, and following a similar logic, an event in the past mayhave different visual characteristics from one that still has to occur.FIG. 38 shows such a situation where three documents from an array ofdocuments 770 are event representations, where document 771 is an eventfrom the day before (d−1) and documents 772 and 773 are yet to happenevents, due to take place two days later (d+2).

FIG. 39 shows three arrays of documents 774, 775, 776 in parallel andsharing common day “borders” d. The first array 774 shows allevent-related documents: convocations C 777, 780, 781, agenda A 778 andreference material R 779. The second array 775 shows all event-relatedtasks T where tasks 782, 783, 784 are completed tasks and tasks T 785,786 are yet to be completed. This second array 775 is actually a linear,time based, representation of a “to do” list. The third array 776 shows,in a fashion similar to FIG. 37, all events E over time, 787, 788, 789,790, 791, and 792, respectively. Position of event 787 above horizontalline L indicates en event (or a meeting) called for by the user asopposed to events where the user has been invited (788, 789, 790, 791,and 792). In a similar fashion, the second array 775 could also behorizontally split and distinguish self-assigned tasks from tasksrequested by someone else. A “due date” could also be considered as avirtual future event.

Dissimilar rules of sorting. To further increase the likelihood ofestablishing links, a user may choose to generate a second array wherethe sorting is done through a different attribute. FIG. 40 shows atypical 2 array of documents 793 displaying documents where time T isthe sorting attribute for both axes. In such case, the period borders“b” never crosses each other. FIG. 41 shows a 2 arrays of documents 795where time T is the sorting attribute for the main (horizontal) arraywhile a statistical value S is the sorting attribute for the secondarray. For instance, it may be the number of common attributes with theintersection element 794. In such cases it becomes possible for periodborders “b” to cross each other.

Targeting Audiences and Displaying Advertising

The disposition of documents on an array of documents provides acognitive advantage because it disposes and displays documents in ameaningful way. An array of documents can group a plurality of documentstogether on the basis of a commonality. The commonality is representedin the present embodiment by an attribute. Thus, the array of documentsmeaningfully displays a group of documents having at least the sameattribute in common. Because an attribute is selected to filter whichdocuments will be part of an array of document it becomes possible tohelp to better target the advertising to be displayed along with thearray of documents. A user who has selected an attribute is more likelyto have an interest into advertising directed to this particularattribute. Using the selected characterization attributes is thereforedesirable to focus advertisings on a more precise audience.

For example, an advertiser chooses a set of characterization attributes,related to his/her product/service, that are more likely to be selectedby users that are potentially good customers for the product/service tobe sold. Each time a user selects an attribute the advertising(s) fromthe advertiser who have pre-selected this attribute are displayed. Theadvertisings are preferably displayed either among the documents alongthe array created in accordance with the to the selected attribute bythe user or at any other place on a display. The user can click on theadvertising and, for example, be directed to the website of theadvertiser. The product could also be bought directly by clicking on theadvertising.

Advertising made this way takes into consideration the user's interestsand behaviors to avoid over exposing or bothering the user with too manymisdirected advertisings. The computer tool takes into consideration thetime logged in, the number of documents viewed, the speed of navigationon the array, the number of attributes selected, the number of displayedarrays, keywords documents visible on the display, user's preferencesettings, the day of the week and the time of the day among otherhelpful data helping to adjust the user's exposure to advertising. Theuser might also decide what type of advertising he/she wants and how itwill be presented. The user can decide to receive numerous adds inexchange of other advantages. The user can also decide not to see anyadvertising at all.

The advertiser is billed (electronically or not) according to a functionincluding the number of times his/her advertising has been shown. Anadditional fee is charged to the advertised if the user clicked theadvertising. All money transfer can be made electronicallyillustratively using Paypal™, credit cards or by any other electronicmoney transfer.

The advertising can be a picture, an image, a movie clip, an animation aselectable means or any other graphical or multimedia file known in thecommunication industry. The advertising is associated with relatedattributes. This association will influence when the advertising isdisplayed and along with which array of documents. Because theadvertising is displayed in correlation with attributes selected byviewers it increases the precision of the advertising display bydirecting the advertising to only viewers who have shown interest into aspecific attribute.

FIG. 42 is an exemplary flow chart that illustrates one possible way toinfluence the display of advertising in cooperation with an array ofdocuments. The sequence begins 800 with the definition of an attribute802 if it does not already exist. The advertiser associates theadvertising with the defined attribute 804 and optionally decides whatperiodicity is to be used for the display of the advertising 806. Next,a viewer selects the defined attribute 810—normally among a wider choiceof attributes. An array of documents is created 812 to group relevantdocuments having the selected attribute in common. The array thuscreated is displayed with the advertising thereon 814 in accordance withthe defined periodicity before the sequence ends 816.

An alternate sequence is illustrated on FIG. 43 where the sequencestarts 820 with an advertiser that defines an attribute 822 andassociates the defined attribute 824 with the advertising 824. A viewer,or a potential client, selects an attribute in a quest for filteringdocuments of interest 826. If the selected attribute is not the definedattribute 828 then the advertising is not displayed along with thedocuments 832. Conversely, if the selected attribute is similar to thedefined attribute 828 the array is created and groups the documentshaving the selected attribute in common 830 and the advertising isdisplayed either next to the array 834 or on the array 836 before thesequence ends 838.

Turning now to FIG. 44, an array of documents 850 is illustrated with aseries of documents 852 and an advertising 854 identified with a boldframe 858. Navigation means 856 and means for identifying continuingdocuments 860 are also depicted on FIG. 36. Alternatively, asillustrated in FIG. 45, another array of documents 880 is illustratedwith a series of documents 882 and an advertising 884 disposed alongwith the array 880. The advertising 884 identified with a bold frame 858on an area that suits the size of the advertising. Navigation means 856and means for identifying continuing documents 860 are also depicted onthis figure.

The attribute that is defined by the advertiser is correlated withsynonyms and groups of other attributes related to the definedattribute. This correlation allows a user to select an attribute that isdifferent than the attribute defined by the advertiser and, if there iscorrelation between the selected attribute and the defined attribute, todisplay the advertising.

An alternate illustrative embodiment is depicted on FIG. 46. Four arraysof documents 900, 902, 904, 906 are juxtaposed one next to the other andform a matrix like arrangement. Each array 900, 902, 904, 906 isprovided with means for identifying non displayed continuing documents860. The first array 900 groups documents sharing a commonality anddisplays repetitive advertisings 920 disposed at an interval of each twodocuments 908. The advertising 920 has been associated with theattribute representing the commonality and is displayed along withrelevant documents. The second array 902 groups documents having thesame attribute associated therewith. Advertising 922 has been previouslyassociated with the same attribute and is displayed along with thedocuments sharing the same attribute on the array 902 grouping documentshaving the attribute in common. On array 902, a single advertising 922is shown. The advertising could alternatively be displayed next to thearray 902 at display area 928 or be shown both on the array 902 and onthe display area 928.

Array 904 illustrates two advertisings 930, 932, from distinctadvertisers. The two advertisings 930, 932 are sharing the sameattribute as the attribute selected for generating the array 904. Thetwo advertisings 930, 932 are disposed every five documents 912 andrepeated in sequence every other five documents. More advertisings canbe associated with the selected attribute and a rotation of all thedifferent advertisings would occur every five documents.

Still on FIG. 38, array 906 displays two advertisings 940, 942 locatedon each side of the array 906. Whether the documents 944 are scrolledleft or right with the navigation means 856 they remain in place justlike the documents were flowing underneath as illustrated with arrow946.

Other Potentially Claimable Subject Matter

A system for displaying arrays of user-selectable elements, the systemcomprising: a geographical position defining module adapted to receiveinstructions about a geographical position; an array defining moduleadapted to enable an array of user-selectable element base, at least inpart, on the geographical position; and a display module adapted todisplay a graphical representation of the geographical position and thearray of user-selectable elements.

An interface comprising: a map display area adapted to display a map inaccordance with a geographical position; and an array display areaadapted to display an array of user-selectable elements, the array ofuser-selectable elements being adapted to group user-selectable elementsrelated to the geographical position.

A method comprising: receiving instructions providing data about ageographical position; and displaying an array of user-selectableelements, the array of user-selectable elements being adapted to groupuser-selectable elements related to the geographical position.

One or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide a method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements, the method comprising:displaying an array of user-selectable elements, the array ofuser-selectable elements defining a past portion, a present portion anda future portion.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein at least some of the user-selectable elements are documents.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of preceding claim,wherein at least some of the user-selectable elements are multimediaassets.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein at least some of the user-selectable elements are menu items.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein the array of user-selectable elements is a substantially lineardistribution of user-selectable elements.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein at least one of the portion has an adjustable width.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein at least one of the portions is provided with a continuityidentifier indicating additional user-selectable elements are notvisible.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein scrolling is adapted to be performed in a single portion at thetime.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein at least one of the portions has a navigation tool associatedtherewith.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein the portions are adapted to be independently selected toassociate a navigation tool therewith.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein the portions are separated.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein the array of user-selectable elements is a plurality of arraysof user-selectable elements.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein the plurality of arrays of user-selectable elements isstackable.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein each array from the plurality of arrays of user-selectableelements is independently selectable.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein at least one array of user-selectable elements is displayable atan angle from another array of user-selectable elements.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,comprising a navigation tool adapted to scroll through user-selectableelements that are displayed at various angles from each other.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claimwherein at least two portions are adapted to be superposed one next tothe other.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein user-selectable elements are adapted to be magnified.

A system adapted to provide a method for displaying arrays ofuser-selectable elements, the system comprising: a display moduleadapted to display an array of user-selectable elements; a memory moduleadapted to store data about the array of user-selectable elements; aprocessing module adapted to enable a method, the method comprising:displaying the array of user-selectable elements, the array ofuser-selectable elements defining a past portion, a present portion anda future portion.

An interface comprising: a display area adapted to display an array ofuser-selectable elements defining a past portion, a present portion anda future portion.

A method comprising: displaying an array of user-selectable elements,the array of user-selectable elements defining a past portion, a presentportion and a future portion.

One or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide a method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements, the method comprising:associating an advertising with an attribute; receiving instructionsabout the selection of the attribute; displaying an array ofuser-selectable elements, the array of user-selectable elements groupinguser-selectable element having the attribute in common; and displayingthe advertising.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein at least some of the user-selectable elements are documents.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein at least some of the user-selectable elements are multimediaassets.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein at least some of the user-selectable elements are menu items.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein the array of user-selectable elements is a substantially lineardistribution of user-selectable elements.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein the advertising is disposed next to the array of user-selectableelements.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein the advertising is disposed on the array of user-selectableelements.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein the advertising is disposed on the array of user-selectableelements.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein the advertising is repetitively disposed on the array ofuser-selectable elements at an interval therebetween.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein the advertising is a plurality of advertising and are disposedon the array of user-selectable elements at an interval therebetween.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein the advertising is a plurality of advertising and are disposedon the array of user-selectable elements at an interval therebetween.

The one or more tangible machine-readable media having encodedmachine-executable instructions adapted to provide the method fordisplaying arrays of user-selectable elements of a preceding claim,wherein the advertising is not simultaneously displayed with the arrayof user-selectable elements.

A system adapted to provide a method for displaying arrays ofuser-selectable elements, the system comprising: associating anadvertising with an attribute; receiving instructions about theselection of the attribute; displaying an array of user-selectableelements, the array of user-selectable elements grouping user-selectableelement having the attribute in common; and displaying the advertising.

An interface comprising: a display area adapted to display an array ofuser-selectable elements and an advertising.

A method comprising: displaying an array of user-selectable elements,the array of user-selectable elements defining a past portion, a presentportion and a future portion.

The description and the drawings that are presented above are meant tobe illustrative of the present invention. They are not meant to belimiting of the scope of the present invention. Modifications to theembodiments described may be made without departing from the presentinvention, the scope of which is defined by the following claims:

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of graphically associatinguser-selectable elements to a geographical location on a map, the methodcomprising: displaying a map on a display; selecting a geographicallocation for displaying the map at a desired map area; displaying aplurality of user-selectable elements selected on a basis of the desiredmap area on the display, the user-selectable elements are displayedalong a horizontal direction in a rectilinear arrangement bellow the mapdisposing user-selectable elements adjacent to each other next to anedge of the map area; selecting a user-selectable element from thedisplayed plurality of user-selectable elements; and displaying astraight graphical link between the selected user-selectable element andan associated user-selectable element geographical location on the map.2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the user-selectableelements are images.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprisingselecting another geographical location for displaying the map atanother desired map area; and displaying another plurality ofuser-selectable elements selected on a basis of the another desired maparea.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the desired map area isdisplayed on a basis of a physical location of a user.
 5. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the plurality of user-selectable elements is selectedon a basis of an attribute.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein thegeographical location is a celestial position and the map is a celestialmap.
 7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereoncomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of acomputer system, enables a method of graphically associatinguser-selectable elements to a geographical location on a map, the methodcomprising: displaying a map on a display; selecting a geographicallocation for displaying the map at a desired map area; displaying aplurality of user-selectable elements selected on a basis of the desiredmap area on the display, the user-selectable elements are displayedalong a horizontal direction in a rectilinear arrangement disposinguser-selectable elements adjacent to each other next to an edge of themap area; selecting a user-selectable element from the displayedplurality of user-selectable elements; and displaying a straightgraphical link between the selected user-selectable element and anassociated user-selectable element geographical location on the map. 8.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, furthercomprising selecting another geographical location for displaying themap at another desired map area; and displaying another plurality ofuser-selectable elements selected on a basis of the another desired maparea.
 9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, whereinthe desired map area is displayed on a basis of a physical location of auser.
 10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7,wherein the plurality of user-selectable elements is selected on a basisof an attribute.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 7, wherein at least some of the user-selectable elements areimages.
 12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7,wherein the geographical location is a celestial position and the map isa celestial map.
 13. A computerized system configured to readcomputer-executable instructions adapted to enable a program enabling aninterface adapted to display a map and an array of user-selectableelements, the computerized system comprising: a processing unitconfigured to process the computer executable instructions; and adisplay configured to display the map; the program, when executed, beingoperative to cause the interface to receive a selection of ageographical location for displaying the map at a desired map area;display a plurality of user-selectable elements selected on a basis ofthe desired map area on the display, the user-selectable elements aredisplayed along a horizontal direction in a rectilinear arrangementdisposing user-selectable elements adjacent to each other next to anedge of the map area; select a user-selectable element from thedisplayed plurality of user-selectable elements; and display a straightgraphical link between the selected user-selectable element and anassociated user-selectable element geographical location on the map. 14.The system of claim 13, further comprising selecting anothergeographical location for displaying the map at another desired maparea; and displaying another plurality of user-selectable elementsselected on a basis of the another desired map area.
 15. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the desired map area is displayed on a basis of aphysical location of a user.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein theplurality of user-selectable elements is selected on a basis of anattribute.
 17. The system of claim 13, wherein at least some of theuser-selectable elements are images.
 18. The system of claim 13, whereinthe geographical location is a celestial position and the map is acelestial map.